AMD Engineer Confirms RDNA3 GPU Power Consumption Will Increase
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For the past few months there’s been a constant drip-drip-drip of rumors about the upcoming GPUs from AMD and Nvidia. The most surprising element of those rumors, at least on the Nvidia side of the fence, has been a dramatic increase in power consumption. Nvidia’s next-gen Ada Lovelace RTX 40-series were originally reported to require almost double the power of its current Ampere cards. Those numbers have since come down a bit, but the latest rumors still hint at a 600W flagship GPU.
That’s hard to even fathom. On the AMD side of the rumor mill though, things have been much more quiet. We know the company is moving to a chiplet-based GPU design for the first time, but will AMD be cranking up power levels too? According to an AMD engineer in a recent interview, yes, it will. By how much, he doesn’t say, only that this is the new trend.
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Microsoft Adds a Ton of New Gaming Features to Edge
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Most gamers don’t really think about a web browser as part of their gaming setup. Heck, most gamers don’t even use a browser for gaming. Microsoft is looking to change that though by making its Edge browser the go-to choice for gamers. Yes, it sounds kind of weird, but Microsoft announced today it’s added a lot of new gaming features to its browser. We know, just stick with us here. Also, if you’re an Edge user who doesn’t care about browser gaming, Microsoft has added a new performance-boosting feature for PC games as well.
The addition of the new gaming features were announced in the company’s latest blog post. It’s part of Microsoft being “all in” on gaming, despite what you might have heard. Microsoft says it’s focusing on a 20-year roadmap to deliver the best gaming experience possible, on any platform, meaning PC, Xbox, phone, and tablet. Today, it’s starting with Edge.
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Asus, Gigabyte Project Weaker Sales as Consumers Reject GPU Bundles
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Time to break out the violins folks, because the world’s largest motherboard manufacturers have a tearjerker of a tale to tell. Both Asus and Gigabyte are projecting significantly lower motherboard shipments for the rest of 2022. In fact, the companies will likely ship 25 percent fewer mainboards this year than in 2021. The big disruptor here isn’t the chip shortage. It’s due in part to the fact they can no longer bundle motherboards with formerly-hard-to-find GPUs. Now that the GPU crisis is effectively over, nobody in their right mind would pay for a bundle like that if they only wanted the GPU. The same goes for pre-built PCs as well.
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Another Pokemon N64 Game Is Coming to Nintendo Switch Next Week
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Nintendo is bringing another classic Nintendo 64 game to the Switch, the company announced Thursday. Pokemon Puzzle League will be added to the Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack service on July 15.
Originally released in 2000, Pokemon Puzzle League is a Pokemon-themed spin on the classic Panel de Pon series, following Ash Ketchum and other characters from the Pokemon anime as they challenge other trainers in block-clearing puzzle battles.
Pokemon Puzzle League marks the second N64 Pokemon game to come to the Switch Online service, following the original Pokemon Snap last month. It's the seventeenth N64 game to hit the service to date since it launched last October.
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Sony Introduces PlayStation Stars Loyalty Program for Gamers
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Sony on Thursday introduced its PlayStation Stars loyalty program for PS5 and PS4 gamers. It'll be free to join, and players will be able to earn loyalty points by completing a variety of campaigns and activities. Players can choose from a catalog of options to redeem points, including PlayStation Network wallet funds and select PlayStation Store products.
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Subway Surfers Tag Skateboarding Game Kickflips onto Apple Arcade
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Apple Arcade added Subway Surfers Tag to its extensive catalog of mobile games on Friday. If you're subscribed to Apple Arcade ($5 a month), you can play Subway Surfers Tag at no additional cost, free of ads or in-app purchases.
Players will skateboard through arenas like the rail yard, the park and the docks. Each arena has different missions -- tag signposts with your spray paint can, perform combo tricks, disable robots, collect coins and more. The more you tag, the higher your score and tougher the challenge. Watch out, though -- a security guard is hot on your tail. Your hoverboard can also run out of power, so as you defeat robots, make sure to grab the floating batteries to recharge.
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Pokemon Go Just Got A TCG Set and It's Stunning
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Pokemon has remained a multimedia juggernaut since Poke-mania reached its peak in the early aughts, but the franchise experienced a resurgence in 2016 with the arrival of Pokemon Go. Blending geolocation and augmented reality, the mobile game was an immediate hit, as eager players around the world flooded parks and stopped traffic in search of wild Pokemon.
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Since that explosive debut, Pokemon Go has continued to grow. Now, six years on from the mobile game's release, the Pokemon Trading Card Game has launched its first Pokemon Go-themed card expansion, and it's a beauty.
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Samsung Takes The GDDR6 Speed Crown With New 24Gb/s Modules
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In the current battle over GPU memory speeds between AMD and Nvidia, Micron and Nvidia scored a decisive victory. Together the companies made GDDR6X, which tops out around 21Gb/s. That memory found its way to Nvidia’s high-end GPUs, named the RTX 3080 and 3090. AMD, meanwhile, used slower 16Gb/s modules on its RX 6900 XT, but then bumped that up to 18Gb/s for the upgraded RX 6950 XT. As you can see, there’s a pretty clear delta there, although AMD’s offerings were no slouches thanks to Infinity Cache. Now Samsung has one-upped Micron, and has developed the world’s first 24Gb/s GDDR6. Note it’s not applying an X to the RAM’s branding, so it’s five percent less cool-sounding.
Samsung made the announcement in a press release. It says it’s designed specifically for “next-generation, high-end graphics.” Interestingly, it didn’t name any customers, but it seems unlikely it would have unveiled it without having at least one big customer already signed. Samsung says it was able to hit these speeds thanks to the combination of a new circuit design and advanced insulating material. Unlike its competitor, GDDR6X, GDDR6 is JEDEC-compliant. Samsung used its third generation 10nm process along with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology in the manufacturing process.
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The Absolute Best Nintendo GameCube Games, Ranked
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In our eyes, the Nintendo GameCube was an underrated video game console.
It's a weird one when you think about it. With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to see it was an influential console that played host to some of Nintendo's best ever titles. At the time? It was often painful to be a GameCube owner, with sub-standard third-party support and painfully long waits between the release of Nintendo's always stellar first-party releases.
1. Metroid Prime
2. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
3. Resident Evil 4
4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
5. Animal Crossing
6. Pikmin
7. Super Mario Sunshine
8. F-Zero GX
9. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
10. Soulcalibur II
11. Viewtiful Joe
12. Eternal Darkness
13. Resident Evil
14. Pikmin 2
15. Mario Kart: Double Dash
16. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
17. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
18. Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader
19. Tales of Symphonia
20. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
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